Outdoorsmen Adventures.com

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

Travis Carter, Elk Point, S.D., and Dan Foss, Onawa, Iowa, captured first place in the Seventh Annual First Class Cat Attack Saturday.

Forty-five teams of catfish anglers headed out into a rain-swollen Missouri River from the South Sioux City Public Boat Dock at 7 a.m. for the competition.

A heavy rain the night before, put the Big Sioux River at nearly bank full and foiled many angler’s plan of fishing that stream.

The high water made this the toughest fishing of any of the events, but Carter and Foss brought in eight channel catfish for a total of 26.40 pounds.

The pair took home a check for $1,373.

The 45 teams from six states weighed-in 98 channel cats and eight flatheads for a total of 106 catfish.

Total weight of all fish was 210.30 pounds. No blue catfish were caught this year.

No team weighed a limit of 10 fish. Two teams weighed nine and five teams weighed eight.

Second place went to Shane Jones, Westfield, Iowa, and Adam Conlon, Sioux City, $968, 14.15 pounds.… Continue reading

High water with heavy flows following a rain makes for tough fishing.

These seem to be the norm this year as there’s high water everywhere, coming down every creek, river as well as in all the ponds and lakes.

The bad side of this is that all the water running into the lakes and rivers, muddies up the water, making it hard to fish without getting your crankbaits, jigs and livebait rigs all gunked up.

The old wives tale, “with every bad there comes some good” is very true in this instance as water flowing into any body of water means the fish will start will be on the move.

It might take a few days for the water to settle down and the swift current to subside, but you can bet when there’s a rise in the water level, with water being released downstream the fish will become active.

The reason for this is pretty basic; the influx in water will bring new food sources down stream.

Worms, insects, zoo plankton as well as the baitfish and fingerlings that were tucked safely into the creeks and backwaters are now being flushed downstream into the rivers and lakes, bringing a smorgasbord to the fish that will be moving towards the incoming water on their way to see what’s on the menu.

In the river, sandbars and vegetation that were once high and dry will now become flooded and the insects and other material that was lying in these areas are now in the water.

In a river, this influx of water and new food sources will attract the fish to the slack water located behind sandbars and points.

Fish, both big and small will move towards the incoming water to feed on what’s being washed or forced downstream.

The biggest benefit of high water in reservoirs located on the Missouri River will reach capacity and water will need to be released through the dams.

Some of the deepest water in the system with the most hospitable water temperatures is located directly above the dam and because of this, there will be large concentrations of fish in these areas.… Continue reading

Holly Chow, Winnipeg, a full-time guide for Cats

on the Red at Lockport, Manitoba, nets a catfish for a client. (Submitted photo)

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

LOCKPORT, Manitoba — When Holly Chow steps into her guide boat, she has to catch fish.

After all, anyone with the nickname, “Mama Cat” has to live up to her reputation.

And she does. A lifetime of experience in waters throughout the country sees to that.

But she didn’t really begin to fish for catfish until last spring. That’s when she began guiding full time for Stu McKay’s “Cats on the Red” resort.

“A typical day would be eight guys standing at the dock and they’d see two boats there and they’d see the girl and they’d go, ‘Oh, god, somebody’s got to fish with the girl,’” she said. “Then we’d come in with 24 fish and they’d go, “We were with ‘Mama Cat!’”

The Red River below the Lockport dam is recognized worldwide as a premier big catfish river in the summertime.

“The average size channel cat is about 20 pounds,” Holly said. “I would be ashamed if I took you out and we didn’t get three over 36 inches weighing between 24 and 26 pounds.”… Continue reading

Here we go again, we’re heading into the fall, where has our summer gone?

It’s that time of the year, the time our kids are heading back to school. As the temperatures decrease, water temperatures will start to cool and fishing will pick up.

With all of these things happening: you can bet it won’t be long before the good fall fishing season is here.

With the water temperatures declining, all species of fish will really start to feed heavily.

When fishing in the fall, it’s a good idea to use larger live bait.

During the fall, fish are on a mission, trying to fatten up before the freeze up.  Chubs and larger minnows seem to attract the larger fish, out producing the smaller baits.

In the rivers, you’ll find the walleye, sauger and smallmouth moving shallow to clean up any remaining baitfish or the crawfish that have survived the summer.

In our lakes, bluegills, crappies, largemouth bass and pike will move into and along the edge of the weeds, picking off insects and of course each other.

Lake walleyes will now be found spread out over the mud flats or cruising the weeds looking for a late season snacks.… Continue reading

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

Drifting and trolling are two tactics for catfish

When it comes to catfishing, most anglers think of sitting on the bank watching the tip of your rod for a bite.

Catfishermen working from the bank are advised to move often in an effort to find the fish.

That also holds true for fishing from a boat, but you have other options than anchoring.

Pat Carter, a catfishing specialist from Elk Point, S.D., has taught me that over the years.

It was no different last week when we decided to meet up at McCook Lake to see if the fish were biting.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shinning and the wind, for once, was not howling. It was, instead, light and variable.

Just right for drift fishing.… Continue reading